ZombiePalooza - Anthology

#TeamEcrivain Pt. V - @VintageVulpes's "Good Luck Charm"

// Good Luck Charm

by // VintageVulpes

Charlie took a deep breath and, as she exhaled, checked the slide of her assault rifle- the mechanisms and metal clanking and grinding as she did. The armored truck lurched as it drove over obstacles strewn in the road. The collisions bumped her slightly out of her seat and she hurried to correct herself but still refused to pull her seatbelt on. She looked through the small window to the front cabin; she could only glimpse the driver and the navigator. There were three other members of the crew, each of them going through their own preparation rituals.

Max, the youngest of the crew still had the worst, pre-run nerves. He sat in his seat with his knees knocking together, his arms wrapped around his shotgun in a hug, and his eyes pinched closed. His shaggy blond hair bounced with each movement of the vehicle through the abandoned city streets; on more than one occasion she'd tried to convince him to let her cut his hair but to no avail. As she considered shaving it in his sleep, she thought of her own short hair- kept shaved on the sides and back with enough on top to style in the front. Most days she was confused for a boy and he a girl. It was a running joke amongst the crew.

The burly man sitting across from Max was the exact opposite of the kid. The broad shouldered man leaned back in his seat, one leg crossed over the other with an unlit cigarette tucked to one corner of his mouth. His eyes were closed but a small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. He was still relatively new to the crew, having found him on one of the supply runs he had demanded to be on the team- providing his many survivor stories as his reason to be trusted. If it had been up to her he still wouldn't be traveling with them but Dirk, their leader and truck driver, liked him and let him join immediately.

"It's creepy, right?" a voice asked gently from her left.

She turned her head from staring at the two to her right to look at the man speaking to her. He stood, one hand grasping the handle attached to the ceiling while the other hung to his side. Charlie smirked at him and nodded. "Yeah, he's a little too comfy."

"I can never remember his name..."

"I don't think he has one, I just call him 'Muscles'," she responded in a soft voice.

He tilted his head down to hide a smile and when he looked back up he shook his head lightly. "I don't doubt he appreciates it," he said, his eyes crinkled at the corners. "I just picture him lifting the undead in order to bulk up, one body per arm."

Charlie laughed through her nose and diverted her gaze from his deep blue eyes down to his free hand where she noticed a square of paper being affectionately rubbed between his forefinger and his thumb. "Nick, what is that?"

"It's my good luck charm," he replied with a breathy laugh.

She quirked a brow as she looked between him and the paper several times. "A piece of paper?"

"Winning lotto ticket," he corrected.

Charlie pursed her lips but her smile was unable to be masked. "How do you know it's a winner?"

"I was on my way to turn it in when I ran into my first undead."

"Doesn't sound too lucky to me."

"It's still a winner- and I'm still alive. That's good enough for me." Nick winked.

"How come I haven't seen you with it before?"

He shrugged and looked at it for the first time since she brought it up. "I dunno, I try to keep it in one piece and as clean as I can. I don't take it out often," he explained. Nick then held it up and took a wary step forward as the repurposed, SWAT truck lurched just as he moved to show her.